MercadoLibre, Inc. $MELI Shares Sold by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its position in MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI) by 10.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 324,148 shares of the company’s stock after selling 36,321 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.64% of MercadoLibre worth $847,203,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of MercadoLibre by 22.4% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 570,967 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,113,881,000 after acquiring an additional 104,554 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in MercadoLibre by 21.2% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 550,433 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,073,823,000 after purchasing an additional 96,283 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC grew its holdings in MercadoLibre by 23.5% in the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 461,875 shares of the company’s stock valued at $901,058,000 after purchasing an additional 87,912 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of MercadoLibre by 7.0% during the 2nd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,235,240 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,228,460,000 after buying an additional 81,124 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new position in shares of MercadoLibre during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $198,244,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.62% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MELI shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of MercadoLibre in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Wedbush upped their price target on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,700.00 to $2,800.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on MercadoLibre in a report on Monday, July 28th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $3,500.00 price objective on the stock. Daiwa Capital Markets started coverage on MercadoLibre in a report on Friday, August 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $3,000.00 target price for the company. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their target price on MercadoLibre from $2,975.00 to $2,900.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $2,854.71.

MercadoLibre Stock Down 8.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:MELI opened at $1,899.75 on Friday. MercadoLibre, Inc. has a 52-week low of $1,646.00 and a 52-week high of $2,645.22. The stock has a market cap of $96.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.36, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.51. The business has a fifty day moving average of $2,230.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $2,364.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $8.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.88 by ($1.56). MercadoLibre had a net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 41.35%. The firm had revenue of $7.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $7.83 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 39.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that MercadoLibre, Inc. will post 43.96 earnings per share for the current year.

About MercadoLibre

MercadoLibre, Inc operates online commerce platforms in the United States. It operates Mercado Libre Marketplace, an automated online commerce platform that enables businesses, merchants, and individuals to list merchandise and conduct sales and purchases digitally; and Mercado Pago FinTech platform, a financial technology solution platform, which facilitates transactions on and off its marketplaces by providing a mechanism that allows its users to send and receive payments online, as well as allows users to transfer money through their websites or on the apps.